The New Sound Of Chicago…
THE ACADEMY IS…
by Tom Lounges
 At the time this
writer caught up with William Beckett, the frontman/vocalist of
Chicago’s power pop quintet, The Academy Is..., the break-out
band was recovering from a hectic post-Holiday Tour that took the group
to select major U.S. cities.
“We’ve been
relaxing and rehearsing again for the next tour. Maybe relaxing is not
the right word, because I’ve just spent like two hours shoveling snow
off the drive way this morning,” laughed the native of Chicago’s Western
Suburbs.
Beckett was
happy to take a respite from snow removal duties in order to speak to
Midwest BEAT about his band’s good fortune and their debut
album, Almost Here, being released February 8 via Tampa,
Florida’s Fueled By Ramen Record label.
The 10-song
set is contemporary with the sound of today’s wealth of post-Green Day
pop-punk, but also retains a distinct Chicago old-school sound on
selected cuts (“Attention” and “The Phrase That Pays”).
These two tunes in particular harken back to the vintage Chicago power
pop sound of bands like Off Broadway and Shoes.
The root of
that Eighties sound was Beatlesque hooks, harmonies, clever lyrics. The
Fabs have likewise inspired The Academy Is..., according to the
singer/lyricist, who co-writes his band’s material with guitarist
Mike Carden. “The Beatles, Weezer and U2 were all big influences
on Mike and I,” said Beckett.
Oddly
enough, this successful musical marriage was born out of jealousy and
nearly never happened. “I did a solo album when I was still in school
and Mike had his own band and we didn’t really like each other,” mused
Beckett.
The Reader’s
Digest version of the story finds the two talented lads coming face to
face with each other at a gig after Carden’s band had broken up.
Realizing that their moderate successes apart could be doubled for the
good of both if they worked together, a magical musical team was born
and soon after were laying down songs to tape with bassist Adam Siska.
“We released
an EP with a small Chicago label first,” said Beckett. “Pete Wentz from
Fall Out Boy, who are also from Chicago are signed to Fueled By Ramen is
a good friend of ours. He told them to come to our shows and check us
out.”
Heeding
Wentz’ advice, the label caught the band live at Bottom Lounge and a
short time later they were in Tampa recording tracks with producer James
Paul Wisner (Dashboard Confessional) which would ultimately become
Almost Here.
After
swapping out their original drummer and second guitarist in 2004 for new
members, Andy Mrotek and Tom Conrad, respectively, the
band’s line-up finally gelled just in time to hit the road for
mini-tours with the likes of Matchbook Romance, Armor For Sleep, Motion
City Soundtrack and Fall Out Boy.
The Academy
Is... are currently saddled up with 2004 break out stars, Something
Corporate. That tour kicked off last month at Chicago’s House of Blues
and sold out so fast that a second show at The Metro was added just one
week later to appease the demand by Chicagoland fans for their favorite
modern rock bands.
“We’ll be
out with Something Corporate until February 12, when the tour wraps up
at the Las Vegas House Of Blues,” said Beckett, noting that his band
will remain on the road as part of a seven week long Fueled By Ramen
& Friends Tour package. “That will be our longest tour yet without a
break and it’s going to be incredible,” predicted Beckett. “We will be
out with Fall out Boy, Gym Class Heroes, Midtown and one or two other
bands.”
Beckett
explained that The Academy Is... built its name in Chicago by playing as
often as possible in hub rooms like The Bottom Lounge and the now
defunct Fireside Bowl. “Chicago’s underground music scene is the best
that I’ve seen compared to cities we’ve gone to and visited,” said
Beckett. “The fans here are real and really into the music. Chicago
has a lot of great clubs where bands can get their songs heard.”
That name
was once just “The Academy”, until they learned that other bands also
used that same name. “We didn’t want to completely change the name
because we liked it and we had put a lot of time and effort getting the
name known,” explained the singer. “The Academy Is... wasn’t that big
of a change.”
Even though
they will have played two concerts within a few weeks of it’s February 8
release, The Academy Is..., plan to truck back to Chicago immediately
following the Vegas conclusion of the Something Corporate tour.
They will
run back to town for a couple of days to host a CD Release Party before
departing with their lablemates on the Fueled By Ramen. “I don’t know
any real details just yet, but we will be here in Chicago celebrating
the album’s release with our fans, because they are the ones who got us
to this point,” said Beckett.
“We’ll be
doing some in-store [meet and greet] stuff at some Chicago [record]
stores and do a show for the fans before heading back out on the road,”
promised the charismatic lead singer who appreciates his band’s hometown
fans as much as they appreciate the music he and one time rival, Carmen
have created.
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